Refugees in Europe

Abstract

In the late sixties and early seventies, new faces began to appear among the traditional Eastern European refugees who had filled the reception rooms at European refugee assistance agencies during a generation of Cold War and East-West conflict. The new refugees came not only from the Third World: Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East?but also, surprisingly, from within Western Europe itself?Spain, Portugal, Tur? key and Greece. They requested assistance, but case workers, both in Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and in governmental services, were unfamiliar with their language and with the social and political background which prompted the exodus from their home countries. To deal with the immediate questions regarding asylum and refugee status, as well as the long-term problems of racial discrimination, cultural clashes and educational differences, agency workers needed retraining and research.